Tuesday, July 27, 2010

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - July 28, 2010: About 20 ships and submarines and the aircraft carrier USS George Washington are participating in joint U.S.-South Korea naval exercises that began Sunday.

North Korea has promised "sacred war" in response to these maneuvers, taking place in the Sea of Japan east of the Korean peninsula .
That kind of rhetoric is not new -- the North used similar language after an international investigation blamed them for the sinking of a South Korean warship this spring. Still, the U.S. military must prepare for the worst.
The man in charge of the U.S. fleet in the Pacific is Adm. Robert Willard. When North Korea threatened war earlier this year, he acted like he'd heard it all before.
"The rhetoric from North Korea is not unusual. We're prepared for any contingency in this region. It's my responsibility that we are," Willard said.
Now, with the latest naval exercises, there is a new standoff.
The U.S. military has a number of plans on the shelf, but John Pike, the director of GlobalSecurity.org, explains the two primary scenarios.
One is based on North Korea initiating an attack -- the "major theater war plan" or OPLAN 5027. The second situation would be the collapse of North Korea. This second possibility, Pike says, "is no one's initiative -- that's something that just happens." It's known as OPLAN 5029.
The First Scenario: War
War might begin with North Korea launching an artillery barrage against Seoul, South Korea's capital.
Michael Green is with the Center for Strategic and International Studies and served on President George W. Bush's National Security Council. He says the U.S. and South Korea would have to respond quickly.
"There would be enormous pressure. In fact, I think the war plans would argue for immediately suppressing the North Korean artillery capability, if they fired at all," Green says.
One risk is that North Korea could launch chemical or biological weapons with that artillery. The North has thousands of guns at the demilitarized zone (DMZ) -- many of them in hardened positions such as caves. A few hundred could reach Seoul.
"The Americans and the South Koreans have been aware of this artillery threat to Seoul for some time. They have counter-battery radars that would detect these guns firing, and counter-battery fire would probably destroy those guns before the first shells that they had fired had hit Seoul," Green says.
Even so, the first round of fire would still hit the city of 10 million people, possibly killing thousands.
Responses To The First Scenario
Destroying North Korea's artillery would be a U.S. Air Force and Navy fight. Precision-guided munitions would fall from warplanes. Warships stationed nearby would launch guided missiles.
Michael O'Hanlon, a military expert at the Brookings Institution, says responding to a North Korean attack with artillery may not be adequate.
"[Y]ou have to say, 'Well, OK, if we've got to the point where we're dropping hundreds or thousands of bombs on them and they are shelling Seoul with hundreds or thousands of rounds -- is this thing really containable?'" O'Hanlon says.
And if it's not, then OPLAN 5027 offers options for what comes next.
O'Hanlon says one possibility in this scenario is taking the fight on the ground into North Korea.
"Do we move in and secure at least a certain swath of land north of the DMZ to push back the artillery more systematically, or do we actually make a quick strike for Pyongyang and try to get the North Korean leadership?" he asks.
Should it come to that, the U.S. would still be in command. But South Korea's army would likely take the lead, driving north across the DMZ, moving into the cities and trying to secure the surrender of individual North Korean commanders.
Despite the planning, most experts agree that the war scenario is unlikely.
The Second Scenario: Collapse
Another plan exists for the second scenario, called OPLAN 5029 -- regime collapse.
Pike, with GlobalSecurity.org, says this is the plan that the South Koreans have increasingly focused on.
"Over time, South Korea has concluded that an invasion from North Korea is improbable, but a collapse of North Korea may be inevitable. And then the question becomes: What do you do when North Korea falls apart?" Pike says.
O'Hanlon adds that a collapse scenario is "very complicated."
He and others note that in addition to everything planners must anticipate in the first scenario -- the barrage on Seoul, for example, or how China would react -- a North Korean collapse poses other challenges. That includes securing the nuclear weapons the North is believed to possess, says O'Hanlon.
"I tend to think that one of the most important priorities is going to be to establish, essentially, a cordon sanitaire around the country's perimeter because you can't risk the nuclear weapons getting out," he says. "And what if some North Korean commander decides that he'll do a deal with al-Qaida?"
O'Hanlon admits that situation is unlikely, but he says reality can be unanticipated.
"We also have to acknowledge that the scenario can surprise us all. We don't get to choose the scenario. The enemy gets a vote, so to speak," O'Hanlon says.
Even 60 years after the Korean War began, some things still can't be planned for.

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information supplied herein, DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. Unless otherwise indicated, opinions expressed herein are those of the author of the page and do not necessarily represent the corporate views of DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News.

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - July 28, 2010: Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad believes the U.S. will launch a military strike on 'at least two countries' in the Middle East in the next three months.
In an interview recorded on Tuesday, Ahmadinejad did not specify whether he thought Iran itself would be attacked nor did he say what intelligence led him to expect such a move.
The United States and Israel have refused to rule out military action against Iran's nuclear programme which they fear could lead to it making a bomb, something Iran denies.
'They have decided to attack at least two countries in the region in the next three months,' Ahmadinejad said.
Israel, which refuses to confirm or deny the existence of its own nuclear arsenal, has a history of pre-emptive strikes against suspected nuclear targets.
In 1981 it destroyed Iraq's only nuclear reactor and in 2007 bombed a suspect site in Syria.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the prospect of a nuclear armed Iran 'the ultimate terrorist threat'.
Ahmadinejad said Iran had 'very precise information that the Americans have hatched a plot, according to which they are to wage a psychological war against Iran'.
He also criticized the U.S.-led drive for international sanctions to pressure Tehran over the nuclear issue.
The European Union agreed a new round of economic sanctions on Monday, including a block on oil and gas investment following a similar move by Washington and a fourth round of U.N. sanctions.
'The logic that they can persuade us to negotiate through sanctions is just a failure,' Ahmadinejad said.

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information supplied herein, DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. Unless otherwise indicated, opinions expressed herein are those of the author of the page and do not necessarily represent the corporate views of DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News.

Harris Corp., Rochester, N.Y., was awarded on July 22 a $78,500,000 firm-fixed-price contract for Foreign Military Sales radio base stations, vehicle mounts, and man packs for the government of the Philippines. Work is to be performed in Rochester, N.Y., with an estimated completion date of Nov. 1, 2010. One bid was solicited with one bid received. CECOM Acquisition Center, Fort Monmouth, N.J., is the contracting activity (DAAB07-01-D-M001).

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

Mansfield Oil Co.*, Gainesville, Ga., is being awarded a maximum $22,604,053 fixed-price with economic price adjustment contract for gasoline, gasohol, low-sulfur diesel, biodiesel and ethanol. Other locations of performance are Delaware, the District of Columbia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and federal civilian agencies. The original proposal was Web-solicited with 52 responses. The date of performance completion is July 31, 2013. The Defense Energy Support Center, Fort Belvoir, Va., is the contracting activity (SP0600-10-D-4018).

Mid-Atlantic, dba Aero Energy*, New Oxford, Pa., is being awarded a maximum $7,241,636 fixed-price with economic-price adjustment contract for fuel oil and diesel fuel. Other location of performance is Maryland. Using service is Army. The original proposal was Web-solicited with 52 responses. The date of performance completion is July 31, 2013. The Defense Energy Support Center, Fort Belvoir, Va., is the contracting activity (SP0600-10-D-4003)

NAVY

Coronet Machinery Corp.,* Bethel, Conn. (N00164-10-D-WR19); Ranger Enterprises,* Springville, Ind., (N00164-10-D-WR19); J&R Tool, Inc.,* Loogootee, Ind. (N00164-10-D-WR19); MSP Aviation,* Bloomington, Ind. (N00164-10-D-WR19); and LT Enterprises, Inc.,* Fairfield, Ohio (N00164-10-D-WR19), are each being awarded a maximum five-year firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple award contract for machining requirements/build-to-print fabrication in support of the ALE-47 countermeasures dispensing set. The work provides for build to print machined/fabricated parts as required for fleet support. The ALE-47 countermeasures dispenser system is an electronic warfare system affording combat aircrews with enhanced survivability in all threat environmental via on board, self protection capabilities with a system for dispensing of expendable countermeasures. ALE-47 countermeasures dispensing system is used on multiple Navy and Marine Corps aircraft platforms to decoy flares, with the decoy flares being used to seduce heat-seeking missiles away from subject aircraft. The maximum dollar value, including the base period and five additional option years for all five contracts combined, if exercised, would bring the total value of the contract to $10,000,000. No task orders are being issued at this time. Work will be performed in Bethel, Conn.; Springville, Ind.; Loogootee, Ind.; Bloomington, Ind.; and Fairfield, Ohio, and work is expected to be completed by July 2015. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with 14 offers received. These five contractors may compete for task orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contract. Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, Crane, Ind., is the contracting activity.

*Small business

CORRECTION: Sauer, Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., a $15,350,000 contract under number N69450-05-D-0181 was announced on July 26, 2010 incorrectly. The correct Navy contract number is N62467-05-D-0181.

(NSI News Source Info) KABUL, Afghanistan - July 27, 2010: The United States has pursued a contradictory policy with regard to the Afghan war by ignoring Pakistan's role in the insurgency, the Afghan government said on Tuesday, following the leak of U.S. military documents.Skip related content
The classified documents released by the organisation, WikiLeaks, show current and former members of Pakistan's spy agency were actively collaborating with the Taliban in plotting attacks in Afghanistan.
On Tuesday, in its first reaction to the leak, Afghanistan's National Security Council said the United States had failed to attack the patrons and supporters of the Taliban hiding in Pakistan throughout the nine-year conflict.
"With regret ... our allies did not show necessary attention about the external support for the international terrorists ... for the regional stability and global security," the council said in a statement.
Afghanistan has long blamed Pakistan for meddling in its affairs, accusing the neighbour of plotting attacks to destabilise it. Islamabad, which has had longstanding ties to the Taliban, denies involvement in the insurgency and says it is a victim of militancy itself.
The National Security Council did not name Pakistan, but said use of terrorism as an instrument of state policy was a dangerous gamble and had to be stopped.
"Having a contradictory and vague policy against the forces who use terrorism as a tool for interference and sabotage against others, have had devastating results," it said.
The White House has condemned the disclosures, saying it could threaten national security. Pakistan said leaking unprocessed reports from the battlefield was irresponsible.
The documents numbering tens of thousands also said that coalition troops had killed hundreds of Afghan civilians in unreported incidents and often sought to cover up the mistakes that have shaken up confidence in the war effort among many in Afghanistan.
On Monday, the Afghan government said it had spoken in private and in public meetings with its Western allies about the need to stop civilian deaths.
"In the past nine years (since Taliban's fall) thousands of citizens of Afghanistan and from our ally countries have become victimised," it said.
(Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

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(NSI News Source Info) JERUSALEM , Israel - July 27, 2010: Israeli police and some 200 Palestinian youths clashed on Tuesday in a part of occupied east Jerusalem where a controversial Israeli archaeological project is underway, an AFP photographer reported.

Police and border guards fired rubber bullets and tear gas at the demonstrators, some of whom were throwing rocks, witnesses said. Five Palestinians were reportedly injured, and one arrested.
Palestinians are angered by an Israeli plan to raze 22 Arab homes to make way for an archaeological park, and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has urged Washington to block the controversial project.
The park, which is planned for a crumbling Arab neighbourhood just outside the walls of the Old City, was approved by Jerusalem city council in June in a move that drew criticism both at home and abroad.
Washington has warned that it "undermines trust" and could hinder the indirect negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians that started in May.
Gan Hamelech, the Hebrew name for the area outside the Old City, is known as Al-Bustan to its mostly Arab residents.
Under the plan, 22 homes would be razed, while another 66 would be legalised. The 88 homes all had been slated for demolition because they were built without Israeli permits.
Al-Bustan is part of the so-called Holy Basin and is believed to be the site of ancient Jerusalem during the time of the biblical kings David and Solomon.
It is now a crowded Arab neighbourhood in a part of the city seized by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in a move not recognised internationally.
Israel considers the whole of Jerusalem as its "eternal and indivisible" capital while the Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their promised state.

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